We must tackle the model-minority myth with self-advocacy and personal storytelling
When we were both 14-year-old high school students in Scarsdale, my friend Emma (a pseudonym) confided in me that she had thought about suicide. Normally, an admission like this would have been shocking. But I understood where Emma was coming from.
My conversations with Emma inspired my advocacy work. I share her story with her blessing.
Emma and I grew up in Chinese-American families with deeply held cultural beliefs emphasizing the value of hard work and perseverance while minimizing discussion of mental health. Emma felt her parents saw her as a high-achieving high school standout and feared they would not take her mental health challenges seriously. In our families, "saving face" often took priority over well-being.
Our emotion-suppressing culture was born from intergenerational and immigration-related traumas and shaped, in part, by the “model minority myth.” This is the societal perception, rooted in racism, that Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are a “problem-free” group – setting the expectations of perfection and preventing help seeking.
Research released by The Jed Foundation (JED), a leading nonprofit that protects emotional health and prevents suicide, found that AAPI teenagers are more likely than others to believe their problems are not serious enough to discuss with someone else. Another study found that only 36% of AAPI people with a mental health condition received treatment in the previous year — 15 percentage points lower than the national average.
These factors contribute to suicide being the leading cause of death among AAPI teens and young adults. It is essential we bridge the chasm between cultural assumptions and the urgent need for mental health support. We must equip people to know the signs of distress and how to act. Identifying those at risk quickly is critical in linking people to necessary support, and these efforts are most effective when employed as part of a comprehensive suicide prevention program.
We must also work to change perceptions and expectations of AAPI youth. While this burden cannot rest just on young people’s shoulders, self-advocacy and storytelling play crucial roles in confronting these challenges.
Self-advocacy can take many forms, including confiding in a trusted friend or adult, starting a mental health club at school, or visiting a counselor. And for those comfortable doing so, it may include speaking about our experiences.
Sharing our stories is vital in dismantling the model minority myth, which reduces a diverse population to a simplistic stereotype and imposes unrealistic expectations on AAPI youth. We cannot, should not, be forced into a singular narrative.
Emma was not yet ready to seek professional help, but her admission sparked something in me. I resolved to do something to help my friend, along with my AAPI peers struggling with cultural pressures.
That’s when I founded SchoolSight: A Comprehensive Mental Health Vision, which is dedicated to raising awareness about mental health issues and reducing the cultural stigma within my Westchester County community. Through fundraisers, speakers, and wellness spaces for students to share their experiences, we work to shatter the silence Emma and so many others face. Instead of waiting for adults to prepare psychoeducation for us students, we students developed presentations for parents in the community, outlining mental health challenges AAPI youth face.
Two years ago, I gave a talk at a national mental health convention to discuss Emma’s journey. Since then, I’ve shared our story at numerous events, allowing me to advocate for the mental health needs of AAPI youth.
Today, I am pleased to share that Emma is thriving. With access to culturally competent mental health care, she found the support she needed. She also began her own journey of self-advocacy to help communities invest in their most valuable, yet traditionally overlooked stakeholders: those with firsthand experience.
While self-advocacy and storytelling are vital, they alone won’t bring meaningful change. Nor is it our responsibility as youth to create the conditions in which our mental health is taken seriously and treated effectively. Everyone who cares about our well-being, including schools and the mental-health establishment, must work to ensure AAPI youth — and all young people — have access to culturally competent mental health care, safe spaces online and offline to connect with and support each other, better training in coping mechanisms and managing stress, and more. Publicizing our stories is an important step in moving in that direction.
By speaking out, we forge pathways to a more inclusive and empathetic understanding of mental health. It is equally important to seek help when needed. Whether it is reaching out to a trusted friend, family member, or mental health professional, taking that first step can make a difference. By advocating for ourselves and seeking support, we pave the way for future generations to inherit a society that recognizes and respects the full spectrum of mental health needs across racial and cultural lines.
Rick Yang, a native of Scarsdale, is a first-year student at Harvard University.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Tackling the model-minority myth with self-advocacy and personal storytelling